Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1489 The Chase for the Top Ratings
Fortunately, the game went on to the last quarter without any major problems. The Knicks had the home-court advantage in the fourth quarter, winning the Rockets by seven points in a single quarter, and finally held on to their lead, leading the finals 3:2.

This is also the last game of this year's NBA Finals held in New York. The remaining two games will be held in Houston, Texas.

Ignoring Dolan and the others, Ronald held his own celebration party. Obviously, more celebrities came to his party than to Dolan's. People in Hollywood naturally have some advantages in terms of connections. Who doesn't want to chat with Hollywood stars like friends?

Many people from the New York theater and independent film circles came today, so many celebrities were attracted by the handsome men and beautiful women and went to Ronald's place to celebrate the Knicks' victory.

Dolan went to the Broncos bar, which is a traditional gathering place for fans after watching the game. Beer is available, and Dolan's whole family went there to show their closeness to the people. However, most fans have already enjoyed the free beer and pizza, so not many people came today, which made Dolan a little sad.

In contrast, Ronald went to Limelight, the most famous nightclub in New York, which was even more luxurious than the most famous Club 54 in the s. Limelight was originally a church, but now it has been converted into a wild party venue.

However, the church is very large, and there are quiet boxes on the third floor for wealthy guests to talk about things.

Ronald was here today, together with Little Bud, to entertain the new NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, Deputy Mayor Peter Pavonero, and Mayor Mr. Rudy, who entered through the back door long after the opening to avoid being seen.

These people were all heroes who supported Rudy during the mayoral election. After Rudy took office, they were promoted one by one and took up important positions in the new New York City Hall.

Today is a gathering with Ronald, one of Rudy's biggest supporters and financiers in the mayoral election and the new owner of the New York Knicks. These people can let go of their emotions, throw away their usual masks in front of their financiers, and have a great time.

These people are either of Italian or Irish descent, and they are the most powerful forces in Rudy's base enforcement system. However, when it comes to the World Cup, the Irish Bratton and the Italian Pavonero are also a bit tit-for-tat.

The beauties wearing bikinis in the colors of the two countries' jerseys set the mood... The two had a cordial and friendly exchange about which country plays better football.

Ronald did not join in this boring argument; he and Rudy were chatting in a whisper nearby.

Two things Rudy promised during his campaign, the independence of Staten Island, have been resolved. Although many people wanted to secede from New York, it was rejected by New York City Hall as expected. The voters of Staten Island did not really want to secede, but they were satisfied after making a fuss and getting City Hall to publicly state that it would not build a new landfill on the west side of Staten Island.

But there is another thing that Rudy has not yet accomplished, his promise to make the ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan free.

After becoming mayor, the progress of this great thing for the residents of Staten Island gradually slowed down, and Mayor Rudy rarely mentioned this matter in his speeches or in the city council.

Ronald expressed his dissatisfaction on the spot, saying that he had called on voters to vote for him, but why didn't you keep your promise? Did Rudy think that he no longer needed the key votes from Staten Island in the next mayoral re-election?
"Ronald, this is a matter of money. The free ferry costs nearly 50 million US dollars a year to maintain operations, including staff salaries and equipment maintenance. However, the city government pays for it, and Staten Island is the one that benefits..."

It's the same old reasons, political issues, and the mismatch between the amount of money spent and the people who benefited. Mayor Rudy probably feels that now that he is the mayor, he has to consider things from the mayor's perspective.

"Don't forget that Staten Island gave you an advantage of 46,000 votes, and you only won less than 60,000 votes in the entire city..." Ronald felt that Mayor Rudy was a little ungrateful.

"Hey, don't be like that. I have to give you free tickets, but... my main political resources are now used to deal with public security issues. The Bronx needs to increase police force... I need the support of some council members from other districts..."

"But don't forget that the people of Staten Island are the ones who put you in office, Rudy. Will those people vote for you in more than three years? We Stantonians are loyal and generous to our friends. If there are real difficulties, we won't blame them for not doing what they promised, but if they don't even try..."

Ronald knew that the free ferry tickets issue was probably quite low on Rudy's agenda, but Staten Island couldn't just be abandoned by politicians. He should remind him of the consequences of inaction.

"What do you mean?" Rudy heard something.

"Many people in the northern part of Staten Island work in Manhattan Island and usually take the ferry back and forth. The monthly ferry fee is also an expense. I live in the southern part of the island. People there don't have any industry. I especially hope that tourists can stop by Manhattan Island to experience the rare Indian relics in New England and the birthplace of rap music. And God bless, there will be people who want to see the filming location of the Godfather..."

Ronald pointed out that there are two groups of people who are very concerned about this promise. They can tolerate the motion proposed by Mayor Rudy, who supports them, being rejected by the council, but if you don't even say anything, it means that you have ungratefully forgotten them.

"I will propose this motion next week. I wonder if the major newspapers in New York will put this news on the front page..." Rudy also understood that Ronald wanted him to show that he was working hard... But this matter was not big news. He really wanted to expand his influence among the people.

"The Daily News has a large circulation in Staten Island, and they will treat this as important news..." Ronald promised to invest, and the two of them toasted happily.

"Cheers... it would be best if Italy and Ireland advance together..."

On the other side, the deputy mayor and the chief of NYPD also reached a consensus that it would be enough to eliminate the Mexican and Norwegian teams.

"What the hell is this? This would never happen in New York. They would applaud a fugitive from a serious crime..."

NYPD Chief William Bratton, after a toast, motioned to a note-taker wearing the colors of an Irish jersey to switch the TV to a channel broadcasting football news to see a preview of tomorrow's game.

As a result, all national television networks, including CNN, NBC, ABC, and CBS, were reporting live on OJ Simpson's escape drive.

Every TV station interrupted its normal programming and sent its best and brightest to interview the scene. Many black people in Los Angeles hung banners supporting OJ Simpson on the bridges along the way, saying they did not believe he was the murderer and that it must have been a frame-up by the LAPD.

Considering the recent Los Angeles riots and the various LAPD's reported actions against black people, this accusation is not too outrageous. It's just that a celebrity like OJ is no longer someone that an ordinary LAPD employee can frame.

"Let me make a phone call and ask, how long will this matter take?" Ronald also felt strange. During the whole process, the Ford Mustang that OJ Simpson was riding in was definitely not going fast. Even if the LAPD had used 50% of their usual overly violent force against blacks and other minorities, they would have forced OJ Simpson's car to stop long ago.

The LAPD had cleared the area along the way and prevented all cars from entering the lanes. In addition to the two LAPD helicopters following the entire process, there were also five or six media helicopters hovering a little further away, hoping to get the latest first-hand information.

The news that OJ wrote a suicide letter has spread throughout the media. They all want to see the former NFL running back shooting himself. Whoever can capture it first will really boost the ratings.

"The media all over the United States are going crazy, and our TV station is also broadcasting it. But the good camera spots have been taken by the big TV networks, so we decided to broadcast the CBS program..." DDH CEO Ed Bastian said on the phone.

As CEO, he had not been directly involved in the TV station's business for a long time, but tonight's event was too big. According to statistics, there were 95 million viewers watching the live broadcast of the five major TV stations in the United States...

This number has exceeded the 90 million viewership record of this year's NFL Super Bowl halftime show. Only Michael Jackson's performance that year received 130 million viewership, which was higher than this farce.

"Why switch to CBS?" Ronald felt strange. Their TV station usually had a good relationship with NBC, so why didn't they switch to NBC this time?

"NBC must be pissed. They delayed the live broadcast of OJ's escape in order to broadcast the NBA Finals. Did you know that? ABC sent its top anchor and reporter Peter Jennings, and CBS even invited Barbara Waters from Sixty Minutes..."

"Oh my God..." Ronald finally understood that this road chase was indeed more exciting than any entertainment activity.

These two are both famous hosts for hosting serious interview programs, but today, for the sake of ratings, they are willing to act as on-site reporters for gossip and big news.

"This is the real-life version of 'Apocalypse Now'. I haven't seen so many helicopters in the sky at the same time since Coppola's movie in 1979. One, two, three... My God, there are nine media helicopters in total... Look, two of them almost collided..."

NBC was not to be outdone and joined the broadcast war after the finals broadcast. They found the announcer of KNX-AM, a local radio station in Los Angeles. This is the largest sports radio station in Los Angeles. The hosts are all very good at describing the situation on the scene...

"Zizzizi..."

Suddenly, Ronald saw NBC on TV, and ABC's broadcast appeared. It was clearly NBC's Channel 5, but it was ABC's media signal...

The nine media helicopters were interfering with each other greatly, and the satellite broadcast vehicle at the scene was following closely behind the police car as OJ's Ford Mustang started moving.

With too many signals being broadcast, the limited satellite broadcast channels were competing with each other. Several TV stations had channel switching, causing everyone to be in a state of panic.

"Oh my god, there's a helicopter descending fast, I hope they're okay..."

The recent Disney CEO helicopter accident left the media with lingering fears. It was finally confirmed that it was just because the chase took too long and a rented media helicopter ran out of fuel and had to land early...

"OJ, this is Pete Arbogost, host of KNX-AM radio, how are you?"

As they were talking, another farce occurred. The host of KNX-AM radio station that NBC was connected to actually got the phone number of Simpson's companion who escaped in the same car, and called the number to broadcast the incident live.

"I'm so bad, I'm the only one who should be hurt in this, I just want to be with Nicole (Brown)" OJ Simpson had collapsed and started saying some depressing words in the car.

"I got through to your college football coach, John McKay at USC..."

This host was very powerful. He used his connections as a sports commentator to get through to Simpson’s college coach and let them have a live conversation on the show…”

The soap opera reached its climax but was interrupted again. LAPD rushed to the radio station and banned the live broadcast of the conversation between the master and the apprentice for safety reasons, which made the people at NBC furious. The exclusive news that they had finally found was banned from broadcasting.

However, the LAPD's reasons were also very sufficient. What if John Mackie failed to convince OJ, and the latter swallowed a gun live on air? Can NBC bear the responsibility?

"OJ has contacted Bob Costas... Can we get through to him now?" Someone at NBC suddenly received a message. NBC sports host Bob Costas received a phone message from OJ more than an hour ago... They used to be commentary partners when NBC was broadcasting NFL football games... After retiring, OJ Simpson worked as an NFL broadcast guest.

"What the hell was he doing at that time? Broadcasting...Shxt!"

To make matters worse, NBC suddenly realized that they had missed the perfect opportunity to interview the escaped OJ live. At that time, Bob Costas was commentating the finals between the Knicks and Rockets at Madison Square Garden...

"The TV station in China called and asked for our broadcast signal. I heard that the TV station in China is also looking for a way. Very well, I will give them the satellite signal for free and ask them to read out our station name..."

Not long after, Ronald received another call from Ed Bastian. Even the Chinese people on the other side of the Pacific Ocean learned about this shocking manhunt and called their good friend Ronald's TV station to request free broadcast signals.

Finally, after several of OJ's friends called to persuade him, Simpson agreed to lay down his arms and surrender. He asked to talk to his mother before surrendering.

After some haggling, Simpson drove his Mustang back to his mansion, where a dozen police officers were waiting for him, and spoke to his mother on the phone.

About an hour after entering the house, it was already early morning in New York. Finally, OJ Simpson walked out of the house and surrendered to the LAPD. The LAPD spokesperson also held a press conference, saying that in OJ's Mustang, they found $357 in cash, a set of clean clothes, a . Magnum pistol loaded with bullets, a passport, family photos and a camouflage kit with fake goatees and fake beards...

"This isn't a suicide attempt, this is an attempt to escape to Mexico, right?" Ronald reacted.

"That's for sure. Those suicide letters are meant to confuse the LAPD. I can tell at a glance that this person likes to be the center of everyone's attention so much that he is unwilling to end his own life..." NYPD Chief William Bratton said with certainty.

"I don't understand. Since the LAPD knew he was pretending and surrounded him on the highway, why didn't they stop him on the spot? Instead, they had to make the chase last for such a long time?" Ronald didn't quite understand. In the end, OJ Simpson's car was driving very slowly, and the LAPD's convoy seemed to be escorting him to surrender.

"Hey, you should ask the LAPD about this. They are afraid that they will force OJ to take violent actions and cause a riot..."

"Oh..." Ronald finally understood. It turned out that both parties had tacitly performed a big drama. The LAPD knew that OJ was reluctant to die, and OJ also knew that the LAPD would not take drastic actions to provoke the black guys, especially since they were cheering him on along the way and hoped that he would escape...

"Oh, Shxt!" Ronald suddenly remembered something. If this really caused racial conflict between blacks and whites, then the special effects scenes in his "Forrest Gump" about the killing of Martin Luther King would be in trouble.

Will I also be attacked indiscriminately by black people and become the unlucky one?

No, I have to go back to Los Angeles. Ronald was shocked and called out, "Bud, Bud... Hurry up, make a call, I have to go back to Los Angeles overnight..."